Its been 2 weeks since this post^ and the stubborn menu IR is about 97% dissappeared,i have to squint to see it.So it gives me hope that it is not burn in and that it should be completely gone soon.PHEW!!!

I used pixel protector wash 1 for many hours at a time and I also unplugged the tv for 24+hrs per panasonic consierge recommenation,which seemed to help.

I'am thrilled that its going away as it was driving me nuts and was about to return it just for that reason as it is a great set wth no buzzing and has a fantastic picture.If anything, I broke in this sucker pretty good as the colors look super now in THX mode and Dave O settings'.

That's good to hear. I've been using a combo of Disney WOW DVD pixel flipper and Pixel Protector DVD screen washes.

That's good to hear. I've been using a combo of Disney WOW DVD pixel flipper and Pixel Protector DVD screen washes.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen much, if any, improvement.

It can take a long time for IR to fade. It took a couple months before the COD4 HUD disappeared from my 50px80u a few years ago. I have had the 65ST30 since July and play DC Universe and a variety of other games. IR occurs, but it will go away. If you continue to play DCUO, make sure to adjust the transparency of the HUD in your settings.

It can take a long time for IR to fade. It took a couple months before the COD4 HUD disappeared from my 50px80u a few years ago. I have had the 65ST30 since July and play DC Universe and a variety of other games. IR occurs, but it will go away. If you continue to play DCUO, make sure to adjust the transparency of the HUD in your settings.

Yep! I've done that since the IR reared its head. Ever notice after a cut scene how the transparency goes back to full brightness and you have to put it back? So annoying!

I've also changed my screen size settings so the HUD is in a slightly different spot than it was originally.

I'm wondering about how this whole break-in process works with a TV that has already seen a bit of use. I purchased a floor model Panasonic S30 yesterday (great price), and I can see the faint outline of the Food Network and ESPN logos in the bottom right corner, obviously from the store having left those channels running for some length. They're only visible while displaying some of the coloured slides I've been using to try to break the TV in. I don't see them at all while watching TV or playing games. My questions are:

1. Is there a way to tell whether this is burn-in or just IR, without knowing how long the store had those channels running?

2. Should I still go through the break-in process with the television, even though it's probably seen more than 100 hours of use? Will the TV suffer any long-term consequences as a result of not being properly broken in by the store? Can it still be saved?

I'm wondering about how this whole break-in process works with a TV that has already seen a bit of use. I purchased a floor model Panasonic S30 yesterday (great price), and I can see the faint outline of the Food Network and ESPN logos in the bottom right corner, obviously from the store having left those channels running for some length. They're only visible while displaying some of the coloured slides I've been using to try to break the TV in. I don't see them at all while watching TV or playing games. My questions are:

1. Is there a way to tell whether this is burn-in or just IR, without knowing how long the store had those channels running?

2. Should I still go through the break-in process with the television, even though it's probably seen more than 100 hours of use? Will the TV suffer any long-term consequences as a result of not being properly broken in by the store? Can it still be saved?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Depending how long the tv has been used as a demo model , I don't think a "break in" will be necessary. Though I would change the setting from torch mode to THX or Cinema and then calibrate from there at least your user menu settings. Contrast, Brightness, Color/Tint, Sharpness, etc. and turn off all other enhancements. I forget the names I don't know too much about the model of tv you have, sorry.

I'm wondering about how this whole break-in process works with a TV that has already seen a bit of use. I purchased a floor model Panasonic S30 yesterday (great price), and I can see the faint outline of the Food Network and ESPN logos in the bottom right corner, obviously from the store having left those channels running for some length. They're only visible while displaying some of the coloured slides I've been using to try to break the TV in. I don't see them at all while watching TV or playing games. My questions are:

1. Is there a way to tell whether this is burn-in or just IR, without knowing how long the store had those channels running?

2. Should I still go through the break-in process with the television, even though it's probably seen more than 100 hours of use? Will the TV suffer any long-term consequences as a result of not being properly broken in by the store? Can it still be saved?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi
Start watching video content that have no logos for a week with 6 to 8 hours of viewing daily,If that Logos start fading then its IR.And if you see action movies with frames & location changing quite fast that would help lot better.And another thing is when you buy something cheap or discounted there is a always a catch.
And if you go to the service menu you will know how many hours your tv was used.I think some one here could help you as to how to enter the service menu.
Wish you all the best.

I did a lot of research and decided on the ever popular Panny ST30 (55" version). I just purchased from Amazon and it arrived yesterday. I am about to run the slides from D-Nice and set it up properly when I was forced to take a look at some of our recent viewing habit changes and now i am worried.

We recently had a new little baby boy and since my wife is breastfeeding, she like to watch netflix and just let it run.... then she falls asleep. We use the PS3 and it has a built in "dimmer" type thing that dims the display after inactivity, but I am worried that might be an issue.

Also we like to play music for our 2yr old and the PS3 has a screensaver type thing, BUT the track number stays on the screen for a the whole time and sometimes if he decides he likes a song we out it on repeat for heaven knows how long.

These recent changes have me rethinking my plasma decision.... any thoughts? Am I worrying about it too much?

I did a lot of research and decided on the ever popular Panny ST30 (55" version). I just purchased from Amazon and it arrived yesterday. I am about to run the slides from D-Nice and set it up properly when I was forced to take a look at some of our recent viewing habit changes and now i am worried.

We recently had a new little baby boy and since my wife is breastfeeding, she like to watch netflix and just let it run.... then she falls asleep. We use the PS3 and it has a built in "dimmer" type thing that dims the display after inactivity, but I am worried that might be an issue.

Also we like to play music for our 2yr old and the PS3 has a screensaver type thing, BUT the track number stays on the screen for a the whole time and sometimes if he decides he likes a song we out it on repeat for heaven knows how long.

These recent changes have me rethinking my plasma decision.... any thoughts? Am I worrying about it too much?

Hi,
I think there is nothing much to worry.Allow your wife and kid to enjoy the plasma till you return home.Once you are there either run color slides or view a full length HD movie or HD episode which covers the entire screen.That's it.
If its runs 2 to 3 hours like that before switching off the plasma tv for the day.I think there should be no problem at all.But see to it that you kid does not watch those slides,since all kids are very attracted to lights & colours.
And when using PS3 as a music server.you can ask your wife to always turn the plasma tv to stand by mode.I assume you have a dedicated amplifier to output the sound from your PS3 unit.If you don't just buy a 2.1 creative or any cheap computer speakers.
By the way your tv is a great choice,and even i own a panny 50 inches model and its around one year old now.And once your tv has put 500hrs or around 2 years of regular usage they become more or less sturdy as a normal CRT tv's.
And before signing off,give my kisses to your baby.

Hi,
I think there is nothing much to worry.Allow your wife and kid to enjoy the plasma till you return home.Once you are there either run color slides or view a full length HD movie or HD episode which covers the entire screen.That's it.
If its runs 2 to 3 hours like that before switching off the plasma tv for the day.I think there should be no problem at all.But see to it that you kid does not watch those slides,since all kids are very attracted to lights & colours.
And when using PS3 as a music server.you can ask your wife to always turn the plasma tv to stand by mode.I assume you have a dedicated amplifier to output the sound from your PS3 unit.If you don't just buy a 2.1 creative or any cheap computer speakers.
By the way your tv is a great choice,and even i own a panny 50 inches model and its around one year old now.And once your tv has put 500hrs or around 2 years of regular usage they become more or less sturdy as a normal CRT tv's.
And before signing off,give my kisses to your baby.

Love,
kris.

Yeah, I figure we will adjust our viewing/usage habits once we figure out what all the ST30 has to offer as far as features. We'll also proabbly stop using the PS3 as a music player/netflix streamer as the ST30 has interent and apps (hopfully netflix works well)

I did a lot of research and decided on the ever popular Panny ST30 (55" version). I just purchased from Amazon and it arrived yesterday. I am about to run the slides from D-Nice and set it up properly when I was forced to take a look at some of our recent viewing habit changes and now i am worried.

We recently had a new little baby boy and since my wife is breastfeeding, she like to watch netflix and just let it run.... then she falls asleep. We use the PS3 and it has a built in "dimmer" type thing that dims the display after inactivity, but I am worried that might be an issue.

Also we like to play music for our 2yr old and the PS3 has a screensaver type thing, BUT the track number stays on the screen for a the whole time and sometimes if he decides he likes a song we out it on repeat for heaven knows how long.

These recent changes have me rethinking my plasma decision.... any thoughts? Am I worrying about it too much?

On the PS3 you can get rid of track info by hitting Select. It'll toggle between the various options incl. one with no overlay at all.

Adjusting settings according to personal preference is not calibration.

New plasma owner here. I've got about 20 hours on my new Samsung PN64D8000, 2 of which were running the break in slide show. I played BF3 for a couple of hours last night and everything seems fine so far.

My question is this, what about watching movies in letterbox format? I was going to watch Blitz last night but even with the TV on Zoom there were still black bars at the top and bottom. Will this be a problem?

New plasma owner here. I've got about 20 hours on my new Samsung PN64D8000, 2 of which were running the break in slide show. I played BF3 for a couple of hours last night and everything seems fine so far.

My question is this, what about watching movies in letterbox format? I was going to watch Blitz last night but even with the TV on Zoom there were still black bars at the top and bottom. Will this be a problem?

Hi,
I have watched few 16:9 BD movies with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen,but i did so only after completing 100hrs of normal hd content viewing.And i did not break my tv using colour slides since i did not calibrate my panny plasma.But in your case its prudent to put 150 to 200hrs of usage before going in for 16:9 cinema content(i.e with black bars top & bottom of the screen)
And every tv brand,series and its manufactures quality differs from country to country from where they are made.Since i do not own a sammy i do not know much about its IR and resistance to burn-in.I repeat first 100hrs are very crucial,since the phosphor is very sensitive.But in case if you want to show-off your tv to your friends & relatives in 16:9 ratio with black bars,then do these things..
1) allow the plasma to warm up with regular content for 30 to 45 minutes before playing that 16:9 content.

2) once you have completed the movie,run colour slides with duration of 15 to 20 seconds duration per colour,use the slide method and not the fade in fade out type.For about half an hour to one hour.

Just in case after watching the movie,if you do not see any IR lines,then i would suggest you need not run the slides...Just switch the tv to some regular tv content.And the popular belief about IR is that if you do not repeat the same content over and over again,you are safe without any image burn-in !

.But in case if you want to show-off your tv to your friends & relatives in 16:9 ratio with black bars,then do these things..

Thanks for the info. It's not a matter of showing off, it's that I've got movies sitting at home from my BB online service. If they're just sitting there, then they are in effect costing me money. I try to watch my movies as quickly as possible so I can get the most for my monthly subscription fee.

I was nosey and decided to check the status of my ST30. I check it every day to make sure it didn't turn off or anything, and I thought it looked a little "light/not bright" but thought maybe it was the angle... it is on the floor in a corner of my room.

Tonight I checked the menu and it has been running since Friday night in STANDARD MODE!!!!! I must not have saved the changes I made or something....

ANY ADVICE. (IE....do I get partial credit for the hours I ran in standard! ugh

I was nosey and decided to check the status of my ST30. I check it every day to make sure it didn't turn off or anything, and I thought it looked a little "light/not bright" but thought maybe it was the angle... it is on the floor in a corner of my room.

Tonight I checked the menu and it has been running since Friday night in STANDARD MODE!!!!! I must not have saved the changes I made or something....

ANY ADVICE. (IE....do I get partial credit for the hours I ran in standard! ugh

Of course I changed the settings and I am running now.....

It's ok, don't worry about it. This stuff is made out to be far more serious than is necessary. Just adjust it to where it was supposed to be and continue from there.

I just got my TV yesterday and I haven't turned it on at all yet. I'm planning on using it mainly for gaming and for watching movies and TV shows (not much though). I mainly play Borderlands and Battlefield 3 which both have HUDs. I've just been reading through some comments here and decided not to do anything with it until I could be sure it was properly broken in.

I keep hearing a lot about these colour slides, and I'm not entirely sure if they are on the Break-in DVD in the beginning of this thread or elsewhere. Also, I hear that Samsung claims that their TVs don't require a break-in period, but I also hear that it is strongly advised.

Anyway, I haven't looked through this thread in depth yet because I'm just about to head out, but does anyone have experience with this TV or this series of TVs? What advice could you give to someone new to plasma TVs?

I just got my TV yesterday and I haven't turned it on at all yet. I'm planning on using it mainly for gaming and for watching movies and TV shows (not much though). I mainly play Borderlands and Battlefield 3 which both have HUDs. I've just been reading through some comments here and decided not to do anything with it until I could be sure it was properly broken in.

I keep hearing a lot about these colour slides, and I'm not entirely sure if they are on the Break-in DVD in the beginning of this thread or elsewhere. Also, I hear that Samsung claims that their TVs don't require a break-in period, but I also hear that it is strongly advised.

Anyway, I haven't looked through this thread in depth yet because I'm just about to head out, but does anyone have experience with this TV or this series of TVs? What advice could you give to someone new to plasma TVs?

Thanks for any help!

Hi,
Running colour slides continuously for the first 100 hrs is to break the prosper evenly and quickly so as one could calibrate the panel.If you are not going to get your panel professionally calibrated then i recommend you start using your tv to watch tv programs,BD content & play games in it.Just see to it that the screen is full without any black bars and if your tv programs have channel logos,then keep changing channel for every half an hour to other channel.This just a precautionary measure you must take for the first 100 hrs or so.Just to prevent getting stubborn IR.
My plasma is from panasonic brand,i did get mild IR,which used to disappear in just 3 minutes watching different contents.And i have not run colour slides and neither i have calibrated my panel.Quite happy with my custom settings.
And here is a link to my settings...

Hi,
Running colour slides continuously for the first 100 hrs is to break the prosper evenly and quickly so as one could calibrate the panel.If you are not going to get your panel professionally calibrated then i recommend you start using your tv to watch tv programs,BD content & play games in it.Just see to it that the screen is full without any black bars and if your tv programs have channel logos,then keep changing channel for every half an hour to other channel.This just a precautionary measure you must take for the first 100 hrs or so.Just to prevent getting stubborn IR.
My plasma is from panasonic brand,i did get mild IR,which used to disappear in just 3 minutes watching different contents.And i have not run colour slides and neither i have calibrated my panel.Quite happy with my custom settings.
And here is a link to my settings...

Alright, well I do not really have any cable in my room here, but I have PLENTY of SD content. We have another plasma TV in a different room, and it has an option that will stretch SD content to fill the entire screen.

If I were to apply this option to my current TV, would it be an acceptable alternative to watching HD content?

Alright, well I do not really have any cable in my room here, but I have PLENTY of SD content. We have another plasma TV in a different room, and it has an option that will stretch SD content to fill the entire screen.

If I were to apply this option to my current TV, would it be an acceptable alternative to watching HD content?

Hi,
yes you can watch any SD content in plasma tv,only thing is it will be less clear compared to the HD content.And modern HDTV looks lot better with HD content.So when your budget permits buy a BD player,HD Set top box,DTH-HD or PS3 unit since all this are capable of sending out 1080 resolution video to your tv.
And first 100hrs or so is crucial for any plasma tv.By the way if you have a DVD player with hdmi out then even you SD dvds would look lot better in it ! And those Dvd players with hdmi out are dam cheap these days.

Tace13: "Of course, I woke up this morning to find the screen lit up bright green and the dvd player frozen. It had been frozen there for 6 hours. Pretty happy about that.

Hi,
Sorry to hear what has happened.Its always safe to monitor elec products when they are working.Unattended consumer durable are bound to fail.
And dvd player which are around 3 to 5 year old,tend to do this.And there are many moving parts like motors,lens tracking shaft,the DAC all get heated up.Since they are designed to work for one and half hours to 3 hours at most.i.e sufficient to watch one normal movie on a dual-layer dvd disc.
but you can use the SD card reader option,which is much safer than using the dvd player.Today's BD players too all have this SD card slot or usb slot in that case one could use a USB pen drive.
Here is a clip of that....But i personally feel one need not use the colour slides if one is not so keen on getting their plasma tv professional calibrated.

Hi,
yes you can watch any SD content in plasma tv,only thing is it will be less clear compared to the HD content.And modern HDTV looks lot better with HD content.So when your budget permits buy a BD player,HD Set top box,DTH-HD or PS3 unit since all this are capable of sending out 1080 resolution video to your tv.
And first 100hrs or so is crucial for any plasma tv.By the way if you have a DVD player with hdmi out then even you SD dvds would look lot better in it ! And those Dvd players with hdmi out are dam cheap these days.

Excellent! Yeah, I've got a PS3, so I'm sure I can get some HD content on there and get to watching! I actually just tested it out with a couple games and it looks awesome so far, I'm excited!

Excellent! Yeah, I've got a PS3, so I'm sure I can get some HD content on there and get to watching! I actually just tested it out with a couple games and it looks awesome so far, I'm excited!

Thanks for all of your help!

You are welcome,and happy viewing ! And by the way some new movies,concerts & animated movies do fill the screen full.If you buy such BD's then you can run that movie every day to age the prosper for the first 100 or 150 hrs.So rent some movies to see which one fills the screen.Them buy those from amazon.com.

Hello All, Noob here. looking at picking up the new samsung PN51E550D1FXZA from best buy to replace my current samsung that crapped out on me, glad to have geeksquad. Anyway, have any of you guys heard any pro's or con's about this set? Will pro calibration provide a noticable difference in pic quality? Any suggested settings? Thanks in advance

I downloaded the Burn-in SVCD from that site. It said it was a serious of images, but all it is, is a white screen. I fast forwarded it and its just colors. Is that all it is or did something go wrong? Also how long do i have to play this before I can use my plasma? Thanks

PixelburninSmooth1920.mp4
----
Panasonic plasma tv's:
1)Put those mp4 files on a SD card and then insert it in the tv SD slot.
2)Enter Menu/Setup/Display Settings/Banner Display Timeout => 0 (No display) [=not necessary]
3)Play the video with Repeat On!
---
Purpose: general pixel breakin/optimizer, IR/pixel resetter, image burnin/screen conformity preventer/eraser etc..
---
Procedure:
1) Play a) PixelOptimizer1920.mp4 or b) PixelburninSmooth1920.mp4 with Repeat On (= endless loop).
2) Set Contrast to Max and Color Mid to Max. Brightness to Mid or/to Max. (set first 100hrs Contrast at Low or/to Mid), (experiment it all for the "best" setting).
3) Play the video for 2 hours till 24/or more hours continuously. You can check every few hours if the effect you're after has reach or not i.e. IR gone or not, else continu playing.
Generally warm room/ambient temperature needs less "warmup" time then colder temperature (experiment it with different duration for the "best"result).
4) Both files interchangeable for playing i.e. play 4hrs a) then 4hrs b) then 4hrs a) etc. or 8hrs a) then 8hrs b) etc.. (experiment it for "best")
---
Description:
a) PixelOptimizer1920.mp4 flashes fast through RGB/CYM/B/W= RedGreenBlue/CyanYellowMagenta/Black/White solid screens/frames with the max Contrast settings, this will warmup/cooling each pixel in the display properly/intensively.
-main use: general pixel breakin/optimizer, possible fix/revive stuck/dead pixels and related issues. (experiment which is best)
-maintenance run weekly/monthy or at will to keep the display at optimal performance.

b) PixelburninSmooth1920.mp4 flashes with smooth transitions through White/RGB, this will warmup each pixel color longer active with smoothly cooling effects.
-main use: IR/pixel resetter, image burnin/screen conformity preventer/eraser and as a) purposes. (experiment which is best)
-maintenance run weekly/monthy or at will to keep the display at optimal performance.
---
Notes:
1) As the display warms up due these tests, (loud) cracking/hum noises is normal due warmup and coolingdown of the electronics/display/case.
2) Uneven screen conformity/discoloration in a solid (white) color screen is considered normal due differences in room temperature, worst in the colder room temperature.
In General:
- Display needs warmup time, normally after at least 1 or more hrs use in normal/optimal room/ambient temperature 20-22 Celcius.
- Calibration of the display needs at least 1hour of warmup first.
---
Ok, share/spread your experience and results with us/others here/there etc..

Good luck!

Disclaimer: Do this at your Own Risk, I'm no responsible for any consequences!

I just recently bought my first plasma and I'm in the process of breaking it in. Can I use the Colour Wash mode to do this? I've been watching full screen content and looping a full screen movie trailer through my PS3 thus far, but I'd like to continue to break it in while at work and I don't want to risk the PS3 or one of my other video sources locking up while I'm out.

Try it yourself, let the video play a few hours and see it yourself, you will notice it directly!.
PictureQuality comes to Life in your face! Testproof it yourself now!. (and also see the real differences between properly break-in/warm-up PLASMA/LCD/LED displays)

This will warmup/cooling each pixel in the display properly/intensively.
-main use: general pixel break-in/optimizer, possible fix/revive stuck/dead pixels and related issues. (experiment which is best)
-maintenance run weekly/monthy or at will to keep the display at optimal performance.